Warm weather brings better moods, but more bugs

Sunday

College students played Frisbee and soccer. Kids ran around playgrounds without coats. Dogs romped in the dog park. Guys practiced driving golf balls.

It was a typical May afternoon around Beaver County. Unseasonably warm weather last week allowed people to enjoy sunshine months ahead of shedule.

The unseasonably warm winter and seemingly early arrival of spring are affecting people, plants and animals in some good ways and some bad ways.

Rihaan Gangat at the National Weather Service in Moon Township said temperatures were about 20 degrees above average last week and will remain above normal for the beginning of this week. He said the average high for this time of the year is 52 degrees.

This winter was the fourth-warmest in history for the contiguous United States, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records. Between September and February, Pennsylvania's temperatures were significantly above average.

Be happy

By March, many people have had enough of the cold, snow, less daylight and confinement indoors. Some people even experience something known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

According to statistics from the Cleveland Clinic, 4 to 6 percent of the population may experience SAD, but anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of people experience a milder form of winter blues.

This winter has provided some respite for people who are normally feeling down this time of year.

Sarah Marshall of Beaver Falls took her dog -- a 2-year-old Staffordshire terrier named Sasha -- to the dog park at Bradys Run Park Thursday afternoon.

"It's much nicer. This winter was a nice break," Marshall said. "It's hard being cooped up in the house." The mother of a 15-month-old baby, Marshall said it's also difficult to get a baby in and out of the car when it's cold.

Kurt Acker of Vanport Township was also enjoying the warm weather at the dog park with his two Labradoodles, Chloe and Molly.

Acker said he usually gets the winter blues, but this year has been better than usual. "I know it's early, but I can't help thinking about getting the garden going and getting the tomatoes planted," he said.

Ron Ference Sr. and his son Ron Jr., both of Beaver, took advantage of the warm weather and practiced their golf swings. They have been golfing together for decades, and this year they've been able to get out much sooner than usual.

One downside of the nice weather is that allergy sufferers may find this year to be more brutal than usual.

Peggy Adams, Master Gardener coordinator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension office, said: "We all love the warm weather, but there will be more allergens. Moist means more mold. This could be an earlier and longer allergy season for a lot of people."

Be fruitful and multiply

Matt Kramer, a wildlife conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said the mild weather is beneficial to many animals. He said they still have a lot of their fall fat reserves, which may lead to more reproduction this spring, especially for game species like deer, bear and turkeys. "Healthy moms mean more babies," he said.

On the flip side, there will also be increased reproduction in nuisance animals such as groundhogs and raccoons, Kramer said.

If we do experience a bad cold snap, animals who have essentially been "tricked" by Mother Nature may suffer a high mortality rate, Kramer said.

We could also see an increase in animal-human conflict. Scavenger animals like coyotes and foxes are increasing their hunting range earlier than normal because they don't need to conserve energy to get through cold weather, Kramer said. He recommends that people try to eliminate outside food sources, like cat food, that will draw mice and rats that scavenger animals feed on.

Bugged

It's shaping up to be a buggy spring.

According to the National Pest Management Association, insects are emerging earlier in the season than usual. Many insects slow down their metabolism and hibernate during the cold winter months, but the warm weather is causing them to search for food sooner rather than later.

Some insects the National Pest Management Association expects to see in greater numbers this year are multicolored Asian Lady Beetles, ants and termites, boxelder bugs and wasps.

Plant life

When it comes to plant life, the weather is creating a lot of unknowns.

Adams said plants are blooming early.

If we get a cold snap, it could be detrimental to plants that have bloomed early. Also, some plants could start to bloom before their pollinators emerge, Adams said.

The emergence of insects could mean that they will get an early start feasting on plants in a predator-free environment. Adams said she's concerned a lot of insects are going to come out before their predators, such as certain birds, have returned to the area for the season.

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